Movie notes: ‘Hurt Locker’ update

“The Hurt Locker” reopens in three San Antonio multiplexes tomorrow in an attempt to capitalize on its six Oscar wins last Sunday, including Picture and Director (Kathryn Bigelow). And this time, it looks to be a decent run, not just a cameo.

The tale of a bomb-disposal unit in Iraq comes back for an encore run at the AMC Huebner Oaks and Santikos Embassy and Bijou. And this time, it’ll be screened three to four times a day. Back in early February, when it was nominated for nine Oscars — tied with “Avatar” for the most nominations — it briefly popped back onto screens at the second-run Cinemark 16, where it was screened once or twice a day.

Unlike “Avatar,” “The Hurt Locker” could really use what Hollywood calls “the Oscar bump,” mainly because its box-office performance hasn’t lived up to its rave reviews. Going into Oscar weekend, it had made a paltry $14.7 million its entire run. “Brooklyn’s Finest” made more than that last weekend, and it’s no one’s idea of a box-office hit.

Apparently, however, plans to expand “Hurt Locker’s” run have been dialed down. Earlier reports this week suggested it would expand from 274 screens nationwide to more than 1,000 in the coming weeks. Instead it will increase to 348 screens this weekend.

That actually isn’t bad news. According to Bloomberg News, the film has been a hit on DVD, selling 780,000 copies since its release Jan. 12, including a spike since Sunday. It has been rented 5.4 million times from stores and video on demand.

A Bloomberg report noted that the limited expansion is consistent with theater chains’ usual policy “not to re-release films that have already entered the home-entertainment marketplace,” said Paul Pflug,a spokesman for the film’s distributor, Summit Entertainment.

Other post-Oscar fallout:

• Budget-minded folks wanting to play Oscar catchup this weekend can catch “Up in the Air” and “The Blind Side” at the Cinemark 16. Both open there Friday. “Up in the Air” went zero-for-six on Oscar night, mainly because it had to bad luck to be up against “Hurt Locker” and/or “Avatar” in the major categories, while “Blind Side” star Sandra Bullock bested Meryl Streep in Best Actress.

• If anything, with “Hurt Locker” reopening there, Huebner Oaks retains its title of Oscar Headquarters. “Locker” joins an Oscar-heavy lineup of “The Blind Side,” “Up in the Air,” “An Education,” “Precious” and “A Single Man.” And “Avatar,” of course.